THE OLDEST AND LARGEST art collection in Quebec is housed in two dramatically different buildings that face each other across Rue Sherbrooke. The Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion, fronted with four white marble pillars, faces the huge concrete arch and tilting glass front of the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion.

The former focuses on Canadiana, with Inuit art, furniture, and church silver from early settlers, and paintings from the 18th century to the 1960s. The galleries in the Desmarais Pavilion focus on European art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, especially the Renaissance. Linking the two pavilions is the gallery of ancient cultures, with rich collections of artifacts, including Roman vases and Chinese incense boxes.

MICHAL AND RENATA HORNSTEAIN PAVILION

Connected to the Desmarais Pavilion by an underground tunnel that contains an exhibition on ancient cultures, this gallery is dedicated to pre-1960 America and includes Meso-American, Inuit, and Amerindian art, as well as early European-style furniture, domestic silver, and decorative art.

Later galleries follow the history of Canadian painting, from church sacred art to early native studies by wandering artist Paul Kane and the impressionism of James Wilson Morrice. The Group of Seven and Paul-Emile Borduas are among those representing the 20th century.